Boys soccer: Lex emerging as state power

Lexington’s boys soccer team cracks the top 10 in the latest state coaches poll in Division II.

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Lexington’s boys soccer team huddles up before the start of its showdown match at Mansfield Christian last week. Lexington’s 3-2 win vaulted the team to No. 10 in the Division II state coaches poll, while the Flames fell out of the Division III poll with the loss.
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Lexington posted a 3-2 win at small-school power Mansfield Christian last week.

The boys soccer team’s only losses have been to Hilliard Davidson and Findlay.

LEXINGTON – Peter Them wasn’t sure if he was the coach of a top 10 team a week ago.

Ranked No. 12 in last week’s boys soccer state coaches poll, Lexington moved up to a tie for 10th after its 3-2 victory at Division III state runner-up Mansfield Christian on Thursday.

“I feel like day-in or day-out we can play with anybody on the field,” the Lexington coach said. “Anytime we’re on the field, I think we can win.”

A season after going a pedestrian 8-6-4 by Lexington standards, the Minutemen are 6-2 with their only losses coming to huge Division I schools Hilliard Davidson and Findlay, teams that hold records of 8-1 and 6-2 respectively.

“We play a pretty tough non-conference schedule, and we pride ourselves on that,” Them said.

Beating a program like Mansfield Christian and taking care of business against a league and neighboring rival like Clear Fork in the same week did wonders for the team’s confidence.

“I feel like we have another level we can go at,” Lexington senior goalkeeper Zac Ritchey said. “As long as we keep playing our game and our style with our tempo, I feel like we can play with any team out there.”

The Minutemen have given up just 11 goals in eight matches. Likewise, they have scored 26 times.

“We’re doing good,” said senior forward Kyle Alexander, adding that they take a peek at the weekly state rankings. “It doesn’t really matter at the end of the day. The team that tries hardest is the one that will come out on top.”

Them liked how his team responded after the loss to Davidson, and they’ll need a similar effort this week with matches against cross-county rival Madison and Wooster after losing to Findlay over the weekend.

“We’ve been preaching all year that we’re a team, one through 19. We’re all buddies and we’re all friends. It’s got to be positive no matter what. They all believe, as a team and as a unit, together they can do anything,” Them said.

The Minutemen finish out the regular season with matches against Ashland and Medina before starting the Ohio Cardinal Conference tournament then the postseason. The coach is hopeful his team will be up to the challenge.

“It’s the team’s mentality and we have to believe we can win,” he said. “That’s the mindset since we got going sometime in June with open fields.”

rmccurdy@gannett.com

419-521-7241

Twitter: @McMotorsport

State-ranked soccer teams

The area has three state-ranked soccer teams in the weekly coaches poll. Lexington’s boys are tied with Youngstown Cardinal Mooney for 10th in Division II, while Clear Fork’s girls team is fourth and Ontario’s girls are 13th in Division II.